Ascension Presbyterian Lord's Day Worship Service 9/24/2023

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood

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September 24, 2023

00:22: Good morning, my brothers and sisters in Christ grace and peace be unto you from God our
00:27: Father and the Lord Jesus Christ welcome to the corporate worship of our God, please stand and Hear God call you to worship through his word.
00:39: Oh Everyone who thirsts come to the waters and you who have no money come by and eat
00:46: Yes, come by wine and milk without money and without price Why do you spend money for that which is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy?
00:59: Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance
01:06: Incline your ear and come to me here and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you the sure mercies of David seek the
01:18: Lord while he may be found Call upon him while he is near let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts let him return to the
01:29: Lord and he will have mercy on him and our God for he will
01:35: Abundantly pardon come let us worship. God. Let us pray. Oh Lord our
01:42: Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth? You made the heavens and earth by your great power and your outstretched arm
01:49: Your invisible attributes your eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen
01:55: Through what you have made the heavens declare your glory We praise you for your providence
02:02: You are the governor and sustainer of all things in you all things hold together in You we live and move and have our being
02:12: You give to all life and breath and all things you work all things after the counsel of your own will
02:19: You have numbered even the hairs upon our head not even a sparrow falls from a tree apart from your will
02:26: We praise you our God for these your great great works of creation and providence
02:33: Above all we praise you for a redemption There is no other God besides you no other
02:39: Savior No other rock to whom the ends of the earth may turn and be saved
02:44: We rejoice that you so loved the world that you gave your only begotten Son the
02:49: Lord Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world And gave your spirit to abide with us and in us and teach us all things
02:59: May we have fellowship with you father son and Holy Spirit and we ask all these things in Jesus's name
03:09: Amen, please kneel as you are able for the corporate confession of sin
03:27: Let us join together in confessing our sins gracious God Help us to see
03:48: We Jesus Christ Accept his worthiness for our unworthiness his sinlessness for our
03:59: Transgressions his fullness for our emptiness his glory for our shame his righteousness for our
04:07: Words Please stand
04:15: In our call to worship. We were reminded that if we call upon God and And turn to him from our unrighteousness that he will have mercy on us
04:25: Here are these words of assurance of pardon repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out
04:32: So that time of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord my brothers and sisters in Christ Rejoice your sins are forgiven
04:41: Amen Please take up the Trinity hymnal and turn to him number 297 all hail the power of Jesus's name him 297 amen, please take up the insert and look for our psalm of the week psalm 40
09:40: I hide not in my heart psalm 40 brother Amen, please remain standing for the public reading of God's Word from 2nd
12:53: Peter chapter 3 2nd
13:07: Peter chapter 3 Beloved I now write to you this second epistle in both of which
13:15: I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us the
13:26: Apostles of the Lord and Savior Knowing this first that scoffers will come in the last days
13:32: Walking according to their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming?
13:38: For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation
13:44: For this they willfully forget That by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water
13:52: By which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water
13:57: But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word are
14:02: Reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men But beloved do not forget this one thing that with the
14:12: Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one Day, the
14:17: Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness But as long -suffering toward us not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance
14:29: But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise
14:35: And the elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up Therefore since all these things will be dissolved what manner of persons are you to be in holy conduct and godliness?
14:50: Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be dissolved
14:55: Being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat Nevertheless we according to his promise look for the new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells
15:07: Therefore beloved looking forward to these things be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless and Consider that the long -suffering of our
15:18: Lord is salvation as also our beloved brother Paul according to the wisdom giving to him has written to you as Also in all his epistles speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to understand
15:32: Which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction as they do also the rest of the scriptures
15:39: You therefore beloved since you know this beforehand beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness
15:46: Being led away with the error of the wicked but grow in the grace and knowledge of our
15:52: Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him be the glory both now and forever. Amen This is the word of the
15:59: Lord Let us now join our voices together confessing our common
16:08: Christian faith in the singing of the Apostles Creed Spirit Please take up the
17:49: Trinity hymnal once more and turn to him 599 Savior like a shepherd lead me him 599
21:26: Please Now make preparations for the prayers of the people after this manner therefore pray our
21:50: Father which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
22:00: Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts
22:06: We forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
22:18: Amen Pray that we may glorify God and all that we do as we live and work in the creation that displays his power
22:27: And be pleased to dispose all things to his own glory Pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced
22:58: Ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it and the kingdom of glory hastened
23:51: Pray that God for Christ's sake would freely pardon all our sins
23:57: And we are encouraged to ask this because by his grace we are able from the heart to forgive others
25:25: Pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin or support and deliver us when we are tempted our father
26:36: Taking encouragement in prayer from you alone in our prayers We praise you ascribing kingdom power and glory to you and to testify of our desire and assurance to be heard
26:48: We say together Amen Please stand and take out the insert one more time
26:57: And this time look for our psalm of the month This is the last time correct that we'll be seeing this.
27:04: I Think so. All right. Psalm 119, please turn in your
29:35: Bibles to the book of James in chapter 1 I'm going to begin reading today in verse 12
29:46: James chapter 1 this is
29:53: God's holy and infallible Word Blessed is the man who?
30:02: endures temptation For when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life, which the
30:09: Lord has promised to those who love him Let no one say when he is tempted.
30:16: I am tempted by God for God cannot be tempted by evil Nor does he himself tempt anyone?
30:24: But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed
30:33: Then when desire has conceived he gives birth to sin and sin when it is full -grown brings forth death
30:41: Do not be deceived my beloved brethren every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and Comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning
30:57: Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth That we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures
31:07: So then my beloved brethren let every man be swift to hear slow to speak slow to wrath
31:16: For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and Receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls
31:35: May the Lord be pleased with our consideration of his most excellent word
31:41: Please pray with me now. Oh Lord.
31:47: I pray that you would instruct your church today Through your word and the power of your spirit illumine our understanding that we may see our responsibility and duty to be diligent students of the word and practitioners of it
32:11: Because we have been given so great a salvation We ask these things in Jesus name.
32:18: Amen Please be seated. Thank you. The title of the message today is the firstfruits of his creatures
32:32: We did not give sufficient attention to verse 18 last week and it turned out providentially to be to our help this week in our section the title of the message again the firstfruits of His creatures
32:50: Under that heading the first point for outline consideration would be our salvation is of God our salvation is of God and Second we must receive the word with weakness
33:10: Our salvation is of God therefore We are the firstfruits of his creatures and it follows that we should receive his word with meekness
33:26: James has supplied to us some milestone markers of Christian maturity little measures that we could evaluate our own progress in the faith the first marker that he gives to us is
33:42: Found in that first section verses 1 through 11. How do you respond to trials?
33:50: We're called to count it all joy the second
33:56: Milestone or measure of our Christian maturity was that section that was found in verses 12 through 17
34:04: How do you respond to temptation? Do you recognize the source in the origin of that temptation, of course, we learned it was our own
34:16: Desires and we are called to endure Temptation that we might be approved receive the crown of life and be blessed
34:28: Today we consider the third measure Milestone marker will of Christian maturity and that is how do you respond to the word?
34:40: I Should point out to you the fourth one. We'll consider next week How do your actions reflect the teaching of the word that will be the fourth measure in chapter 1, but this week
34:52: We're considering how do you respond to the word? Salvation is of God our salvation is of God And we must receive the word with meekness
35:07: Let's look at our text again beginning in verse 18 One of the things that reform people like to think about is the doctrine of election
35:20: This should not be a cause of us being prideful But us to recognize our salvation is all of grace
35:29: God has taken the prerogative in salvation he has ordained and elected some to salvation and he has sent a
35:39: Savior the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem every single one of them
35:46: And in this we rejoice that we are privileged as the people of God to be numbered among the elect
35:53: We've done nothing to enter into this place. The Lord himself has done it
35:58: He has brought us to life. He has given us salvation in his
36:04: Son Look at verse 18. It says of his own will
36:11: He brought us forth by the word of truth It's interesting in our reading today in 2nd
36:19: Peter There was this allusion to the word of truth there in that section
36:25: And in fact we learned that the words spoken by God are the thing that causes the
36:32: Instrumentality of the world to exist as a created order and he also has given us a special revelation
36:41: Which is found in the Holy Scriptures and this actually this key here in verse 18 gives us a clue
36:48: About the real subject matter of our section We're gonna find that in verses 19 and following he's not just giving us some general life principles
36:59: It's actually how are we to respond to the word? We could take that and apply it broadly to other areas.
37:06: This isn't just a little life skill lesson It's a instruction for us to respond to the word in a certain way
37:14: Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth
37:21: That we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures
37:28: Now in the Old Testament God commanded his people to give the first and best portions of the harvest to him
37:39: Exodus 23 Nehemiah 10 By giving those firstfruits as an offering to God his people
37:49: Acknowledged that all that they had came from him. This is very Important this became one of the important feasts as you know of the
37:58: Jewish people The firstfruits were given at the Feast of Weeks, which we know better as Pentecost 50 days after Passover.
38:11: So the first principle of the firstfruits is the idea of harvest The second is a nation
38:21: Israel itself was considered holy to the Lord the firstfruits of his national harvest
38:29: Jeremiah chapter 2 Thirdly the idea of firstfruits is applied to believers.
38:38: I'm trying to understand what this text means in verse 18 Believers the first converts of a particular area were called the firstfruits
38:49: Romans 16 1st Corinthians 16 here in James the new birth is experienced by those early
38:58: Jewish Christians is A preview of how he will make all things new in the new creation in Christ Some of James audience members might have been there at Pentecost They might have been the firstfruits of the gospel administration they might have been the first converts to Christ in that way and this preaching of Peter and the
39:24: Apostles during that celebration of Passover Pentecost There's another consideration
39:33: We think about the firstfruits the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit has been given to us
39:40: He is the first surety of a future glory
39:45: So embedded in this idea of firstfruits is the practice the the very worship of the people of God in the
39:53: Old Testament It's now being applied in very Powerful and impressive ways in the
39:58: New Covenant as the gospel goes forth and men women and children are coming to Christ But finally and maybe most importantly
40:09: Jesus is the firstfruits of those Who have fallen asleep?
40:15: first Corinthians 15 as the Old Testament firstfruits symbolized and consecrated the entire harvest that was to follow
40:25: Christ's resurrection was the foretaste of the resurrection of all believers yet to come his resurrection is our assurance that we too will be raised and receive
40:43: Glorified bodies now look at verse 18 again We have been born of God think about John's gospel chapter 3 we have a new birth in Christ He himself has birthed us.
40:58: He's the one who's brought us forth by the word of his truth And he's done this at least in part that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures that we might be consecrated to his service so it follows then that there is a
41:18: Kind of behavior and conduct that should characterize the people of God and that's what takes us
41:24: To the bulk of our section here beginning at verse 19
41:32: So then my beloved brethren The language here is of familial loving paternal care again from James he keeps
41:46: Urging them admonishing them, but he has behind this this pastoral love and concern and affection for his people he says
41:58: Every man should be swift To hear how should we hear the
42:04: Word of God? We should be eager to receive it. We should be attentive
42:12: We should be prepared Without raising your hands because I don't think many of you would be able to raise your hands this morning on this one
42:22: How many of you prayed earnestly That your heart would be fertile soil for receiving the preaching of the
42:30: Word today You made preparations this morning on your knees that you would receive the
42:36: Word of God Or that you'd pay attention in Sunday school
42:42: How many of you gave attention to that? Preparation of preparing yourself to be ready to to worship to sing to God to praise his holy name to to follow along attentively in the liturgy and Appropriating those words as not only words on a page, but my words your words
43:05: We should be a people who are eager and it requires some measure of preparation
43:13: To receive the word It reminds us of the good soil in the parable of the soil of the of the sower ready to receive the seed planted in Proverbs 17 it says even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace
43:37: When he shuts his lips he is considered perceptive
43:43: The ancient adage goes God gave you two ears and one mouth
43:50: You should listen twice as much as you speak Proverbs 29.
43:57: Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him
44:05: You and I have to be people who are eager to hear the
44:12: Word of God and and what's going to be convicting a little bit for us today is
44:17: The admonition from James means that there is a tendency in us to not hear
44:26: That there's a tendency for us in our devotional reading plan We have outlined how many chapters we're going to read in a certain day and and we read through those chapters
44:37: But but but do we hear the Word of God? We cross it off the list.
44:43: I read my reading plan. Did I take it in? Did I appropriate it?
44:48: Did I assimilate that Word of God? Did I did my mind wander in race?
44:55: Did I think of theological things that interest me to ask questions about or to question someone about did
45:02: I? Think about how I might teach it or show people how smart I am Theologically or did
45:08: I receive it as the very Word of God coming from his mouth, but every man
45:20: Be swift to hear and slow to speak.
45:28: It seems in James. There's some Internal evidence that there were people who had trouble with this just look over at verse 26 of chapter 1
45:41: It says if anyone among you thinks he is religious And does not bridle his tongue
45:52: But deceives his own heart. This one's religion is useless
46:01: Chapter 3 verse 1 let my brethren let not many of you become teachers knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment
46:20: The Christian instead of constructing or formulating our answer or Cataloging our disputes we should be disciplined to bridle our tongues and receive the word with Submission I want to tell you something that you may not know
46:40: I could preach in a way that would curry your favor I Know you well enough
46:47: I know The things that you're interested in I could preach on the subjects that you like to hear about and I could get your applause
46:55: And you'd be very excited about some of those things I could preach But that wouldn't me be doing it not me
47:03: I would not be doing a faithful job of cutting the text straight We could talk about our hobby horses every week when we first started the church that would be known as covenant
47:14: Some years ago we had people they wanted me to teach on the family every week They wanted me to speak about the
47:22: Christian family every single week The Christian family is important But see we come to the scripture not imposing our theology on the scripture
47:34: Not seeing how it aligns with what we like and what we're have a natural
47:39: Affinity for the things that we're most excited about we come and we humbly
47:44: Submit to the authority of the scripture and we sit under it We don't make it say things that we like it to say we
47:58: Receive the word we are swift in hearing We listen intently and deeply and we're slow to respond to it
48:11: We come with a submissive attitude about the word this is very
48:19: Convicting I don't know about you But when I'm listening to preaching or reading the word of God my mind begins to race and to follow rabbit trails of things
48:29: I think about I Start to think about other theological connections
48:35: There is a discipline in our Reception of the word that that James is calling us to because there's dangers out there
48:44: If we're not careful, we'll fall sway to false teachers We ourselves may take on some aberrant doctrine and heterodox
48:55: Beliefs into our own system because we have not allowed the the Lord to speak to us in his word
49:02: We have already interpreted it. We've already Decided what it means and what it says
49:09: So James calls us to a higher standard Swift in hearing it's so passive it seems
49:18: I have this thing on the side of my head that collects the information
49:23: But but there's actually Activity on our part. We have to be active listeners in the
49:30: Word of God We have to hear what it really says and and we have to be silent
49:35: Before it and we have to wait to speak There's something else that's surprising in this section because when we think about James We think of it as a book of Proverbs in the
49:51: New Testament. We think of all these things independently But we realize all of this goes together
49:58: Verse 18 is connected to verse 21 and verse 22 and 23
50:04: It's all about the word and receiving the word And it says in verse 20
50:12: The wrath of man, excuse me, the end of verse 19. We're slow to speak and we're slow to wrath
50:22: One commentator has said people Desire to have their own opinions confirmed.
50:31: I want that. We all want that their own ways approved
50:41: Their own likes and dislikes approved by others in James's time
50:50: Self -will in our time as well Self -will was supreme personal hostility was rampant and the spiritual damage was
51:05: Enormous Instead of working together in love on each other's behalf they fought each other to have their own ways
51:16: Regardless of the consequences to Christ's Church or to their own spiritual well -being
51:27: James emphasis here. This is not the quote any longer is on those who hear the truth and Have a deep
51:37: Resentment to it Because it contradicts their false doctrine and personal sin and Ungodliness Now when
51:51: I think about anger in this word or gay, I think about an outburst of rage
51:59: Remember some years ago. I don't know if my wife will remember this but we were Traveling and I was sure there's a road rage incident happening and I was quite sure that someone might die as a result of that road rage incident not involving me observing it and I was praying fervently because the first car the offending party
52:27: Cut off the man and he actually said kind of waved I'm sorry and the other man started being very violent and pursuit of like ran him off the road and He got to his window and he's shouting and screaming and Basically attacking the guy through the window.
52:43: I said he could get shot or he might shoot this man in this road rage incident
52:50: If you've ever noticed when you cut someone off or or something happens in a supermarket and you bump into someone there is a burning seething rage and people that's just waiting to come out and This anger is deep
53:06: It's inside and it's held and it's concealed and in a practical sense
53:12: It takes very little to set it off, but in our text today James is concerned with a private anger
53:23: When we don't like to be confronted with our sin you and I Avoid parts of Scripture sometimes sometimes there's preaching we don't like because it attacks
53:39: Calls us to repent on things that we cherish so in this little list of slow to speak swift to hear and slow to wrath we have a
53:50: Template kind of negatively speaking about how we are to approach the
53:57: Word of God Paul solidifies this argument very concisely in Galatians chapter 4 if you remember this he says
54:05: Have I therefore become your enemy? Because I tell you the truth
54:14: Do we want to shoot the messenger? Do we want to avoid some part of this glorious whole counsel of God?
54:26: It's because we don't like what God has to say You could blame it on a teacher.
54:33: We could blame it on something else but we have to acknowledge that there's something in us that says
54:40: I don't like that particular teaching in Scripture and it in some ways enrages us that that would be included in the canon of course, this is an improper view of receiving as God's children his firstfruits
55:01: Consecrated Creatures the ones who have been given so great a salvation these things ought not to be so So We continue
55:16: Look at verse 21. There's another Connection here that we have to make and I've seen this in countless counseling
55:32: Situations and pastoral work. I've seen it in my own heart another impediment to receiving the word with meekness where the goal where we're going here where we hope to be is
55:47: Because of sin look at verse 21 you and I are called to lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness
56:00: You and I have sin that is a great impediment to hearing the word when
56:11: Bible reading and meditation and devotion and sermons grow stale
56:18: There is almost always a sinful cause in you We say the preaching is not compelling enough.
56:26: The teaching is not compelling. I'm just not interested. It's not really doing anything for me Nine times out of ten or more that feeling that that perception of things is actually your
56:39: Sinfulness is a barrier to your reception of this Holy Word Our first parents hid in the garden after the fall
56:51: They walked with God in the cool of the day and they decided after they fell that they would hide their face from him
57:00: You don't want to open up this word of God because it will bring conviction to you and will call you out on your sin
57:07: It's the very reason you need to open up this word You and I need to purge our lives of these are very dirty words filthiness and overflow of wickedness
57:25: That we might receive with meekness the implanted word We have to be people who mortify the flesh daily and repent constantly
57:39: This is the only way that we would truly adopt God's perspective as our own
57:47: It's achieved primarily through the word read meditated upon prayed through preached
57:56: And sin Is a great impediment to this
58:02: Pursuit, I don't have time you have all the time you need To read and study the word.
58:08: You're not so busy cut off a couple of YouTube videos and a couple of Mindless internet news sites or whatever it is that takes your time.
58:19: You've you've just found your time Get up a little bit earlier stay up a little bit later.
58:24: There's your time. It's there You can find it all of us again. We make excuses, don't we?
58:30: I'm so busy You're far too busy. If you have no time for the word quit your job if it keeps you away from Christ in his word
58:43: There's something positive to think This word that draws us and saves us
58:52: This working of the Holy Spirit in our lives with an assurance and promise of future blessing and glory
59:00: Enables us to receive with meekness the implanted word
59:06: Great commentator Albert Barnes has this to say about our section today
59:12: The connection is this Since God is the only source of good now,
59:23: I want to stop here children If I said all you had to do was come over to this rain gutter and hold your hands out and Gold coins would fall out as long as your hands were under the drain.
59:39: I think you'd do it You'd spend a lot of time out by the drain Every good and perfect gift comes from above It's mediated through the person of Christ who is the living breathing word and he's given us the written word inspired by his
01:00:00: Holy Spirit It would seem that we would be wanting to catch a lot of gold in our hands
01:00:08: The blessings flow from on high and they flow through this word God has appointed it to be so it seemed that we would be eager to Receive it start again in the quote since God is the only source of good
01:00:34: Since he tempts no man and Since by his mere Sovereign goodness without any claim on our part
01:00:43: We now have the high honor conferred on us of being made the first fruits of his creatures
01:00:56: Since that is true Parenthetically, I'm saying quote again. We ought to be ready to hear his voice and to subdue all our evil passions
01:01:13: And to bring our souls to entire practical obedience
01:01:22: Endquote, so there's this great cohesiveness in James Every good gift comes down from the father of lights and In verse 17 of the first chapter.
01:01:37: We have a very strong and robust doctrine of God one of the important loci of systematic theology
01:01:45: And in verse 18 and in our section we also now have a strong doctrine of Scripture Being given to us in James.
01:01:55: This is immensely practical book You remember from last week deep theological things drive us to practical obedience
01:02:03: Practical earthly things drives us to heavenly things. It's great interplay between The greater and the lesser this work between these two sides
01:02:13: There is deep theology in James chapter 1. How do you respond?
01:02:27: To the word the message
01:02:34: James gives us here is that true faith Requires us to be meek to lay aside our contrarian irritability against the truth
01:02:47: You say what? I love the truth Theological truth is what I love and I would say
01:02:53: I question it because how much do you practice it? You say you love the truth.
01:02:59: You love this deep theology But how much does it transform the way you live every single minute of your lives?
01:03:22: You need to lay aside this Irritability this contrarian spirit against the truth if you dig deep in your heart you will find some
01:03:35: You need to put to death the pride of your own opinion and your tendency to be
01:03:46: Self -willed and every corresponding corruption So that you might receive the implanted word there's another word that needs to be defined again for us and We are to hold our hands out that we might receive the blessing of heaven that's why we say
01:04:08: Liturgically the blessing that's going to happen in a few minutes. Hold your hands out picturesque of God blessing you hold them wide
01:04:16: Be prepared to carry a heavy load of blessing That's going to descend from on high every good and perfect gift for his people comes through his blessing
01:04:28: Affects even the liturgy of the church How do we
01:04:35: Achieve or attain this meekness, of course, we need the Holy Spirit to work within us
01:04:42: There's a great definition from vine. It is this for meekness children I want you to be able to tell your parents what meekness means today
01:04:50: Because this is the way you have to receive the Word of God This is vine on meekness
01:04:59: Meekness is an in wrought grace of the soul and The exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God the one who's
01:05:18: Slow to hear fast to speak and fast to wrath has himself in mind first The Meek man meek woman the meek child wants to hear from God this grace is directed toward God and Quote again, it is that temper of spirit in Which we accept his dealings with us as good without disputing or resisting
01:05:57: Connor You have to acknowledge that God has given you this back problem and you have to be okay with it
01:06:07: You have to be disposed and inclined to accept this providence of God Dana your body is stricken with arthritis and some part of you has to come to terms
01:06:20: With God's dealings with you are good and you can't resist or dispute the goodness of his plan because you suffer with arthritis
01:06:30: Sounds a lot like the beginning of the chapter, doesn't it? God gives us what we need that we might grow to full maturity and he afflicts us
01:06:42: With emotional pain with physical pain with relational pain That we might grow in Christ likeness
01:06:53: Moses was the meekest man Because he accepted
01:06:58: God's dealing with him as good He didn't resist he didn't dispute there's a great humility and actually a great strength and meekness
01:07:12: The angry man is not meek the self -willed man is not meek
01:07:18: The conceited egghead theologian man who thinks so highly of his own opinion is not meek so we have to recalibrate our
01:07:32: Pursuit and reception of the Word of God. Do we read it to confirm what we already believe?
01:07:38: Do we read it for those things? We like to talk about? It's sad.
01:07:45: He's a very fine man pastor that I Sat under for a few years in my early
01:07:52: Christian life mega church gifted communicator he had
01:07:58: Built into his manuscript his sermon applause breaks As he knew that what he was going to say
01:08:07: Would cause the congregation of thousands of people to break out into applause
01:08:22: We need to receive this word and allow it to take us wherever God wants it to take us
01:08:29: We have to labor not to preach our opinion when we come to a text of Scripture or our devotional study on our own
01:08:38: But we have to labor to be instructed to be corrected to be changed to be transformed by the
01:08:47: Word well There's another element that needs some coverage before we go
01:08:59: And that is this We receive it with meekness And it's described here in verse 21 as the implanted word
01:09:11: It's just like you think it means it's planting a seed in the ground
01:09:19: And so in order for us today to receive James's message, which is not James's message
01:09:25: It's God's message because this is God's holy and errant authoritative inspired infallible word
01:09:33: You and I have to say the soil of my heart is fertile Ready to take in the word that it might take root and flourish in me
01:09:46: That's the right attitude and we have we approach the scripture the word that is able to save your soul represents a
01:09:55: Working of divine power. This is an operation behind and within and through the truth of Scripture This is how salvation comes into being
01:10:07: This is what cultivates it this is what keeps it alive and growing and it what progresses on to full maturity in this life and into final glory and the life to come in fact the
01:10:25: Christian life nurtured under the word becomes perfect and Complete lacking nothing because we have in it the very wisdom of God.
01:10:35: I found this
01:10:43: This is apparently a common thing that people write in Bibles and I've missed it somehow and I think it's really fantastic and An article
01:10:56: I was reading on a related subject to this about the authority of the word and the richness of the word a man recounted receiving a
01:11:05: Bible and his friend Gave it to him after his conversion and the inscription said this and I think this really
01:11:14: Crystallizes some of what we've considered today This book will keep you from sin comma or Sin will keep you from this book
01:11:30: I'm gonna say that again Have any of you read had that written in your Bible or anybody is that common?
01:11:36: I've never it seemed it was have you heard that before? This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book our sinful desires
01:11:52: Draw us away from the truth We have to labor and be disciplined and put things aside that we might receive the word with meekness
01:12:06: And as I was thinking about it this perspective of the Word of God hearing from God himself is the thing that keeps the chains of the old man broken from us
01:12:22: We're new creatures in Christ That sinful old man tries to climb back on our backs
01:12:31: And the Word of God keeps the chains broken Reminds us of who we are reminds us of our desperate need of Christ.
01:12:39: It reminds us of the grace of God in Giving and sending Christ to be the salvation for our sins
01:12:51: How do you respond to trials? do you rightly diagnose and discern the source of temptation
01:13:05: Today the question to be asked is how do you respond to the word a couple of words of application?
01:13:14: We'll close here every
01:13:20: One of us needs to have greater humility and Teach ability when it comes to the word secondly
01:13:38: We need to put to death those self -willed tendencies And we need to adopt this very helpful prescription this admonition from James to be swift to hear
01:13:55: Slow to speak and slow to wrath. We're gonna see in James later That the false teachers and the people who are perishing
01:14:04: Don't do these things They are acting contrary to this third
01:14:18: You and I need to yearn for the righteousness of God. We need to love righteousness.
01:14:26: I Don't know what your loves and your passions are but we need to Be the people of the beatitude we hunger and thirst for righteousness
01:14:36: We'll find satisfaction there fourth we can say this for every message essentially we need to mortify the flesh and purge out the sin and Fifth along these lines we need to receive the whole counsel of God Do you love reading through Leviticus?
01:15:05: There's a lot of gospel there It's a lot of Christ there Leviticus, but we avoid certain parts of Scripture.
01:15:12: We don't love them as much, right? We need to receive the whole counsel of God and six this language of salvation does this mean our
01:15:25: Salvation in verse 21 is in a precarious place because it says which is able to save your souls
01:15:31: No from start to finish to final glory we are saved and the
01:15:36: Word of God is a Tremendous aid in our salvation to be delivered from temporal sins and from judgment and all of those things we have to be students of the
01:15:51: Word The day which could bring conviction.
01:15:57: I want to turn your attention to Christ and To his salvation and the joy that you and I should experience
01:16:08: We get to pursue righteousness set aside filthiness the overflow of weakness weakness wickedness receive with meekness the implanted word because We've been redeemed
01:16:23: We've been saved our position is secure and we're now going therefore and Walking in righteousness.
01:16:31: What a great gift For his people that we have the privilege of pursuing and striving after holiness and righteousness
01:16:45: And finally, I want you To come now and keep the feast take the bread and to your mouth and Drink the wine and like the
01:16:59: Word of God Assimilate it into your person and be nourished by the salvific work of Christ on your behalf
01:17:08: Amen Let's pray together. Oh Lord.
01:17:19: We thank you that That you have called us not only in a general way to be better listeners and prudent with our tongues and Slow to anger and wrathfulness, but Lord you've you've told us to approach your word and all its forms the ministry of the word from private devotion to Preaching and deep academic study the
01:17:48: Lord that we should be submissive to it To receive it with meekness
01:17:55: Oh Lord, I pray that you would unearth the the prideful character of our hearts where we
01:18:03: Take it on our own terms When we use it to affirm the things that we like to talk about I pray that we'd have a much more humble
01:18:16: Spirit when it came to your word. Oh Lord, I pray that we would be like the
01:18:22: Bereans who received the word with all readiness
01:18:29: They searched the scripture daily To find out whether these things were true.
01:18:37: Oh Lord help us to be meek like that To receive your word with all readiness
01:18:44: You know Lord I pray today for Some whose hearts are heavy because they've not been spending time in your word.
01:18:54: Oh Lord. I pray that that you would From your love incite them back to drink from these deep wells to put their hands under the
01:19:09: Flow of gold that comes from your truth Lord it convinced them again that it's good for them
01:19:16: And then you have blessing there for them when they come and spend time in your word.
01:19:21: Oh Lord revive our devotion to your holy scriptures And May this be reflective of our never -ending ever -growing devotion to you
01:19:33: Lord Jesus And it's in his name that we pray
01:19:40: Amen Let's continue our worship with the presentation of tithes and offerings
01:20:18: Please stand and let's pray together. Oh Lord, we thank you that You have made
01:20:31: People in the first century of firstfruits of your creatures That you have made us maybe the firstfruits in our own families as Christians That you are doing this new work and Lord we acknowledge this great spiritual harvest and return back a portion of what belongs to you already as an acknowledgment of your ownership of All things in your provision of all that we need
01:21:01: Oh Lord receive these gifts and may they be used for the advance of your kingdom the growth and godliness in your church
01:21:12: Discipleship of the nation's we ask these things in Jesus name. Let us respond to The privilege status we have to get to work in our spiritual lives and the singing of the glory of pottery
01:21:30: Let us begin Oh Be with you
01:22:09: Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the
01:22:15: Lord It is right in a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you
01:22:26: Oh Holy Lord Father Almighty everlasting God Because you have sent your beloved son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life
01:22:40: That when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world We may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing
01:22:50: Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven We praise and magnify your glorious name evermore praising you and Singing, please be seated.
01:24:30: Let's pray together. Oh Lord, we recognize that you have consecrated us as a people and in this time we take ordinary things like bread and wine and we
01:24:51: Consecrate them They're now filled with greater meaning and significance because they represent
01:24:58: Christ and His body and his blood. Oh Lord, I pray that your people would be nourished by the body and blood of Christ crucified for them and That we would long for greater intimacy and fellowship with you and and with your people as a result
01:25:25: We ask these things in Jesus name Amen Our Lord Jesus Likewise he took the cup after supper saying this cup is
01:25:52: For as often as you eat this bread There In light of all these things let's with with greater focus and earnestness not just a rote memorization a
01:26:18: Contemplation and consideration of these words Let's approach the table together by praying in unison
01:26:25: We do not presume to come to this your table Oh merciful
01:26:31: Lord trusting in our own righteousness But in your manifold and great mercies
01:26:37: We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table
01:26:43: But you are the same Lord who always shows mercy Grant us therefore gracious Lord So to eat the flesh of your dear son
01:26:53: Jesus Christ and to drink of his blood That our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body
01:27:00: Our souls washed through his most precious blood and that we may evermore dwell in him and he and us
01:27:09: Amen Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us
01:27:14: Therefore let us keep the gifts of God for you the people of God Thanks be to the
01:27:23: Lord Refrain so that we would be entirely consecrated all to him
01:38:31: Let's commit together in unison Almighty Other benefit that you will never allow us to forget these things
01:39:05: But having them imprinted on our hearts May we grow and increase daily in the faith which is at work in every good deed
01:39:13: And now father send us out to do the work you have given us to do To love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our
01:39:22: Lord to him to you and to the Holy Spirit the honor and glory now and forever
01:39:29: Please stand The blessing bless you the
01:40:14: Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you peace